Desolate Lands
by 0bs1d1anKn1ght
Summary: Treecko wakes up in the middle of the Frontei region, and realizes he lost all of his memories! Together with a plucky Charmander, he sets out to uncover his own mysteries. A sister fic to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Destruction


**Chapter 1**

 **[Author's Note: I'm not going to seriously update this story until I'm finished with Explorers of Destruction's first arc. Until then, enjoy the teaser.]**

"Wh-where...am I?"

It was hard for the Treecko to open his eye lids, being nearly baked closed by the sun. However much he did open them, he saw nothing- only a blinding light from above. He raised himself from the sandy floor; combined with the unbearable heat of the Frontei region, his relentless headache left a nasty feeling brewing in his tummy. His eyes adjusting to the burning brightness, he swept his head slowly on each side to scope out where he was. He had no idea where he was. The ground was nothing but rock and sand for miles, and a handful of scrawny, leafless trees surrounded him; whatever shade they gave failed to shield him from the harsh conditions. He was as good as dead.

He cradled his aching head in his palm. "G-geez," he grunted to himself, "Wh-what is my head trying to do, lay an egg? This heat...so intense...making me sick."

"Are you okay?" a gentle voice grabbed his ear. He looked to his left to meet a Charmander, face-to-face. With crystal blue eyes filled with optimism, and an infectious smile incapable of frowning, she was a strange first encounter if you were nearly dying of a heat stroke.

"Wh-who...are you?" asked the Treecko.

"I'm Charmander," she said with a happy chirp. "You're a Treecko, right? I don't think I've ever seen a Treecko live so far out here- I thought you guys prefer more forested areas than deserts like this."

Treecko asked, "Where am I, exactly?"

"You're in the Frontei region, silly," she spoke almost as if she chuckled. "To be more precise, we're in the Desert Flats."

"It's...so hot here," Treecko choked.

"Yeah, I know," she laughed, "isn't it amazing? It always feels like summer here- it's even nicknamed 'Groudon's Cradle' because it's so hot. It's perfect weather for Pokémon like me; I just love it!"

The Grass-type attempted to get on his feet: to no avail, his strength surrendered to his heat sickness, only to be caught by the Fire-type before hitting the ground.

Her eyes narrowed in worry, "Ooh, I forgot, you're a Grass-type," she said to herself. "You guys don't like this kind of weather, do you? Oh gosh, you're even browning up like a leaf."

Treecko wheezed in her grasp, "Feeling...sick...overheating..."

Her eyes went in shock. Too many things raced in her mind to grasp on. Everything felt warm to her touch, but holding him was like holding a still burning chunk of coal. "O-o-o-okay, okay," Charmander stuttered, "I-I-I'll help you out of here! Don't worry!" She threw the sickly Grass-type's arm over her shoulder, and told him, "I-I can get you to town; you'll feel much better there! _Just don't die on me!_ " It was at a Slugma's pace, but the Charmander managed to get the Treecko walking right beside her. At such a pace, the trip back to town was long, but her heart kept her in the game- no matter the obstacle, she was going to see her new friend get well!

"U-ugh..." His sunburned eyelids stung while being opened. An aggressive pain in his head refused to leave him alone, he couldn't think straight. His usually red underbelly turned brown and felt tight- touching it brought a severe burning sensation. But his day started changing for the better: at least now he's not taking a dirt nap in the middle of a dead forest. Now he was welcomed by the cooling shade inside of an unknown cabin- it was only cooler than outside by a sliver, but he reveled in it with a relieved sigh as he sloped back down on his back. Aside from a tremendous headache, a little part of him felt at peace. "Finally, some coolness," he said to himself. "I thought I was going to bite it back there."

A female voice chuckled, "Yeah, so did I-"

Treecko scrambled from his bedding in a frightened hurry! His eyes trembled unnervingly, looking at the Charmander he didn't notice sitting by him! "Wh-who-who are you?!" He demanded in a trembling tone.

"Whoa, you're a jumpy one, aren't ya?" she joked. She gave him a smile brighter than the flame on her tail, "Don't you remember? I'm Charmander! I'm the one who saved you! I'm just really glad you didn't decide to play with the Mandibuzz. Do you like my house?"

"O-oh." Taking slower breaths to calm himself down, his heart didn't feel the need to break out of its bony cage.

Her smile took a more sincere shape, "You still don't look too well," she told him tenderly. "Why don't you lay back in bed?"

Despite saving his life, she was still a complete stranger to him. But he was beyond any condition to walk out on her. With his brain knocking at the inner walls of his skull, he'd might as well take her up on her offer. "Th-thank you," he told her, crawling back to the bed.

"Here, you must be thirsty." the fire lizard handed him a beat-up, metallic cup, holding water inside. Just watching it swirl and dance inside its container made his bone-dry mouth scream for relief. "I hear you need to drink lots and lots of water if you want to feel better."

"Th-thank you." Cautiously he took the drink from her hands, and down the hatch it went. In not even a second the full cup was gone. A soothing coolness from the drink felt nice in his system, though it wasn't enough to overcome his overheating. It was a start, though.

"Y'know, I'm really glad I rescued you," she told him.

"Oh, really?" He asked.

Her orange face turned a lush red under her eyes, "Y-yeah. To be honest, it felt actually kinda cool, rescuing you. Where I found you, it's like that everywhere; this drought's been causing a lot of Pokémon to suffer, and many more getting desperate for supplies, and becoming outlaws. I want to help all Pokémon out of this funk- one way, or another. I found you while I was playing in the Flats, and I just sort of thought you needed help, what with you looking like a shriveled up leaf under the sun." She scratched her chin, a bewildered look striking her face, "by the way, what _were_ you doing there? It's not like a Grass-type to just take a nap in the middle of a desert, unless they really _do_ want to play with the Mandibuzz."

That was a good question: how _did he_ get there? No matter how much he though about it, no matter how deeply in his mind he dug, all he drew were blanks. He couldn't even draw up anything from the past- his life was just a void before meeting her. "I-I-I...I don't know," he told her. "I can't even remember anything from the past."

"Amnesia, huh? Well, that's frustrating," she said. "Do you even remember what Pokémon you are?"

"A-a Treecko, maybe?" he asked. "I don't really know, I'm drawing too many blanks."

She lowered a brow, and crossed her arms, "Hmm, well that's troubling," she said. Soon her look of irritation cleared as she came with with an idea, "How about this: for now, we can give each other nicknames. Y'know, just for a while, until you know who you are."

"O-okay," he said, "guess that makes sense. What are you going to call me?"

"How about 'Leaf'?" She asked.

He cocked his head slightly to the left, "Why that name?"

The Charmander gave a nervous laugh, while prodding her fingers against each other, "W-well, because you remind me of a leaf, of course! I just think the name really suits you."

"Oh," he said to her in a low voice, "okay. I-if we're naming that way, I-I think I call you, 'Sunny'. Because you're bright."

Charmander's eyes widened as she gasped, sparkling brighter than any star, "I love it! You're really good at giving nicknames!"

He gave a nervous laugh, "Yeah."

Sunny raised to her feet from his bedside, "You're a pretty cool guy, Leaf. If you don't have anywhere to go, you're always welcome to crash here. I'll get you some more water; just rest up a little while, okay? Heck, maybe your memories would return with some rest!" Without anything left to say, she walked out of the room in a hustle.

"W-well, she seems pretty nice," Leaf said to himself. "But she sure can be a little pushy." he slumped back into the bedding, as slowly as his burning, tight skin could allow. He stared at the stone ceiling above him, "Still, I should be grateful to her," he said to himself. "She did save my life- if she wants to help me out, I won't stop her. And besides, she's right about one thing: I don't have a place of my own, at least, that I know of."

Observing the clean cut, smooth surface of the ceiling brought a narrowed glare into his eyes, reminding him of how barren his own being was. He hated the feeling- the feeling of knowing something is on the top of his head, but he can't quite recall it. "What was it she said I have? Amnesia?" he asked himself. "What if it's actually permanent? What if I never figure out myself? I feel like a blank canvas, left alone to paint itself. Man, I should stop thinking about it- I might burn myself out. Maybe she was right: maybe it'll all come back to me with some nice rest."


End file.
